Quick viewing(Text Mode)

Non-Iberian Spanish Nationalism Examined

Non-Iberian Spanish Nationalism Examined

University of Mississippi eGrove

Honors College (Sally McDonnell Barksdale Honors Theses Honors College)

Spring 4-30-2020

Nationalism Beyond a : Non-Iberian Spanish Examined

George Ruggiero IV

Follow this and additional works at: https://egrove.olemiss.edu/hon_thesis

Part of the Economics Commons, European and Societies Commons, Other Political Science Commons, and the Politics and Social Change Commons

Recommended Citation Ruggiero IV, George, "Nationalism Beyond a Nation: Non-Iberian Examined" (2020). Honors Theses. 1578. https://egrove.olemiss.edu/hon_thesis/1578

This Undergraduate Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Honors College (Sally McDonnell Barksdale Honors College) at eGrove. It has been accepted for inclusion in Honors Theses by an authorized administrator of eGrove. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Nationalism Beyond a Nation: Non-Spanish Iberian Nationalism Examined

©2020 By George Ruggiero IV

A thesis presented in partial fulfillment of the requirements for completion Of the Bachelor of Arts degree in International Studies

Croft Institute for International Studies Sally McDonnell Barksdale Honors College The University of Mississippi University, Mississippi 2020

Approved:

Advisor: Dr. Miguel Centellas

Reader: Dr. Douglass Sullivan-Gonzalez

Reader: Dr. Oliver Dinius

1

Table of Contents

Abstract 3 Introduction 3 Research Question and Rationale 4 Theoretical Framework 5 Research Design 6 1. Case Selection 6 2. Data 9 3. Method 10 Literature Review 11 Historical Review 11 1. Basque Country 11 2. 14 3. 16 4. 19 Theoretical Framework 22 Data and Analysis 29

Conclusions 37

Bibliography 39

2

Abstract

In this thesis, I explore differences between certain non-Spanish nationalist movements within . To do this, I examine similarities and differences in economic, political, and cultural factors that may explain why some Spanish autonomous communities exhibit major nationalist movements and some do not. These factors include the presence of proclaimed nationalist political parties, strongly identified cultural identities, and historical elements that point to the existence of a non-Spanish identity or nationalist movement.

Introduction

Picture yourself in this situation. It is your first time going to . You are alone and walking around the city where you are going to live for at least the next five months. You speak the at a low level, and you certainly are not confident enough to approach anyone with any questions, no matter how minor they may be. As you look around your new surroundings, you start to notice that not everything is in a language you know; some things look very strange to say the least. As you walk through the narrow streets of the older part of the city, the sound of people speaking spills out of cafés and open-air restaurants. Again, you are reminded of this other language that people are actively using.

This situation was the one that I was in when I first arrived in in the Spring of

2019. I was quickly enamored by the and culture. I went as far as taking a

Basque language and culture class at my host university in Spain. This is one of the first situations that came to me when I started thinking of what to write this thesis about. I was able to

3 feel the direct touch of the Basque people and their strong connection to their history and heritage.

Research Question and Rationale

In this thesis, I explore differences between certain non-Spanish nationalist movements within Spain. To do this, I examine similarities and differences in economic, political, and cultural factors that may explain why some Spanish autonomous communities exhibit major nationalist movements and some do not. These factors include the presence of proclaimed nationalist political parties, strongly identified cultural identities, and historical elements that point to the existence of a non-Spanish identity or nationalist movement.

This is an important question to explore in the wake of the 2017 Catalan referendum regarding independence and the following reaction by the Spanish government. After the initial acceptance of the referendum by the Catalan , the Spanish government deemed the referendum unconstitutional in early September. In the hopes of stopping the referendum, the

Spanish raided the Catalan government’s office, confiscating voting supplies and arresting

14 people in late September. Even with Spanish police intervention at many voting stations, the referendum vote occurred on October 1 2017. 43% of registered voters placed a ballot and 92% of those votes were for independence. On October 27, the Catalan parliament voted in favor of a unilateral declaration of independence from Spain. 55 of the Catalan parliament members were not present at the vote as they deemed the vote illegal. Hours after, the Spanish Senate approved the activation of Section 155 of the Spanish Constitution (Minder & Barry 2017). This section gives the Spanish government the authority to dissolve regional governing bodies, take direct control of the region’s autonomy, and call for a new election, all in the name of protecting the general national interest. The activation of Section 155 sets a dangerous precedent, allowing the

4

Spanish government to quell nationalist movements in the name of protecting the “general national interest” (Spanish Constitution, Section 155).

Theoretical Framework

In this exploratory project, I outline the differences between the nationalist movements within Spain, focusing on the differences between nationalism and other possible forces at play, like , and, explore how culture, economics, and history affect contemporary election results.

I define a nation as a socially constructed group or community that defines itself through shared heritage or culture (Anderson 2006). Nationalism is the ideology and movements that promote the interests of that nation. These interests usually have the end goal of gaining and maintaining sovereignty or self-governance. That shared culture typically includes a common ancestry, language, and faith.

The Spanish political system is a decentralized unitary system with a symbolic monarchy.

Each region of Spain is called an autonomous community, with a high level of local control, including police forces and lawmaking abilities. In the Spanish Constitution of 1978, written after the fall of the Franco regime, certain autonomous communities were designated as historic : Catalonia, the Basque Country, and Galicia (-Muro 2015).

I adopt a political and cultural perspective that focuses on the ways in which nationalism manifests itself in Spanish autonomous communities through national identity, politics, and history. Economics are important to this study because of how they change how political entities, the Spanish government for example, react to election results, major party swings, and or economic downturns. Historically, Spain has not been kind to nationalist minorities, particularly

5 under the Franco regime. While the systematic repression performed by the Francoist regime is no longer in effect, many of those affected by the policies enacted during the 20th century have not fully recovered.

Research Design

This is an exploratory project. As such, this thesis is designed to pose a set of hypotheses, analyze data, and formulate conclusions based on that analysis. This project is split up into four case studies: the Basque Country, Catalonia, Navarre, and Galicia. The variables being tested are as follows: the dependent variable is the performance of nationalist political parties in the selected autonomous communities, and it is being used as a marker of support for the nationalist movements being examined; the two independent variables are the percentage of people that speak “Enough” of the , and the GDP per capita of the autonomous community. A shared language is an identifier of a shared community, and each of the data sets used for this variable have a scale that measures language proficiency the same way. GDP per capita provides a look at the economic performance of the autonomous communities and how that translates to the individual level. The hypotheses being tested in this project are as follows:

Autonomous communities that have a higher GDP per capita have more successful nationalist parties. Autonomous communities that have a higher percentage of people that speak the regional language have more successful nationalist parties.

1. Case Selection

I have narrowed my focus to four case studies. I chose these cases based on the following factors: the presence of a shared, non-Spanish cultural identity, the presence of self-proclaimed nationalist political parties, and examples of historical elements that point to the existence of a

6 non-Spanish national identity or nationalist movement. I defined the presence of a shared, non-

Spanish identity by the existence of a shared language other than Spanish.

The first is the case of the Basque Country. Economically, the Basque Country is strong, with seven percent of Spain’s total GDP, and housing a hub of banking, innovation, industry, and natural resources (European Commission). Politically, the Basque Country is led by a nationalist party, EAJ/PNV. Linguistically, the region has a strong minority of people who are either fluent in Basque or passive speakers of the language (Servicio Central de Publicaciones del Gobierno

Vasco, 2013). This is a historically nationalist area of Spain. The Basque people have been isolated for much of history and had a level of success governing themselves, dating back to the

Middle Ages. During Franco’s regime, the Basque language was highly repressed and the people were culturally oppressed. Events in the leadup to the regime, namely the bombing of , are still thought about today.

Navarre is my second case study due to its link to the Basque Country and historical importance. The nationalist group in the autonomous community of Navarre is of the Basque people; however, the situation is quite different. To start, Basque influence in Navarre is isolated to the northern part of the autonomous community, even though the entirety of Navarre is claimed to be part of the Greater Basque Country, the sphere of influence of the Basque people.

Although the entire country does not identify with the , there is a political base for the

Basques. Basque nationalist parties, conglomerated into GeroaBai and EhBildu, hold approximately 32% of the seats in the Navarrese Parliament. Thus, Navarrese regionalist parties hold a strong minority in the Navarrese parliament. Culturally, Navarre is heterogeneous, mixing those with Basque identity and those who do not. According to the EU Commission on Growth, the Navarrese economy is continually growing and changing. While it was mainly focused on

7 agriculture, it has become more diverse, now anchored by a strong service sector and industry.

Historically, Navarre was one of the last surviving independent kingdoms in the , before its conquest by Castile. Nevertheless, Navarre was not designated as a historic in the 1978 Constitution. This case is used as a sort of counter-point to the idea that only nationalist parties, or those with nationalist tendencies, are successful in these autonomous communities. In Navarre, an anti-regionalist party, one against and autonomy from Spain, has been successful over the last three decades.

Catalonia is the most extreme case of nationalism in this group of case studies. As previously stated, in 2017, the autonomous community’s leadership held a referendum voting on declaring independence. The deemed unconstitutional referendum passed, forcing the Spanish government to trigger Section 155 of the Spanish Constitution. Their course of action was to dissolve the Catalonian Parliament at the time, enact direct rule, and hold re-elections. The

Catalan government is controlled a majority group of nationalist parties. The Catalan culture is strong; the language is widely spoken and recognized. Catalonia boasts a strong economy. The autonomous community has the largest gross GDP in Spain and a GDP per capita, at 32,000, well above Spain’s average. Based in tourism, Catalonia has by far the largest economy of any of

Spain’s autonomous communities, which may explain why the central government is very reluctant to let it secede. Catalonia, much like the Basque Country, was oppressed under the fascist Franco regime.

Galicia is the case that represents the opposite end of the spectrum. While there is some nationalist and separatist politics in Galicia, they hold little to no power. The biggest nationalist party in Galicia, the Socialists’ Party of Galicia or PSdeG-PSOE, makes up less than 20% of the

Galician Parliament. The autonomous community also has nationalist parties in the Galician

8

Nationalist Bloc, Grupo Común da Esquerda, and . Politically, the Galician nationalist movement is particularly subdued. The vast majority of the political parties, including the

Galician wing of the national conservative party, subscribe to some level of nationalism

(Schrijver 2006). Economically, Galicia is not all that strong. Per Eurostat, Galicia only has a

GDP per capita of 23,900 (Eurostat 2019). However, they are still climbing out of a recession that mainly affected its automotive and naval industries (European Commission 2019). The

Galician language is still alive and well, with just over two million speakers. Historically, the

Kingdom of Galicia has changed hands between the Kingdoms of , León, Castile and

León. It also has had periods of time of independence. The and culture were quieted by Franco’s regime in the Twentieth Century, like the Basques and .

2. Data

Along with the qualitative analysis of the histories of these autonomous communities, I will be utilizing data available to me to perform a basic quantitative analysis.

For this study I use three different types of data for my analysis. To identify a certain autonomous community’s level of success by a nationalist political party, I use voting records provided by the Junta Electoral Central (JEC), the Spanish service that records election results. I use language usage data to measure the level of cultural identity. Language is a form of shared identity, and in these cases, one of the main factors that sets three of these autonomous communities apart from the rest of Spain. The other major data I use is economic data. This data is used to test whether economic factors affect levels of nationalist political success over time.

The JEC data sets provide regional election results. I collected election results from 2006 to

2016.

9

The data regarding language proficiency is provided by research services that are part of their specific region’s government. The releases a Sociolinguistic survey every five years that measures the use of the Basque language in each part of the Greater Basque

Country: Euskadi (Basque Country), Navarre, and the French region of the Greater Basque

Country. The Galician government has the Instituto Galego de Estadística (IGE). The Catalan government funds the Instituto de Estadística de Cataluña (IDESCAT).

I use data from Instituto Nacional de Estadístca (INE) and de Investigaciones

Sociológicas (CIS). Both the INE and CIS are organizations funded by the Spanish state that collect and organize data. These sources were primarily helpful in finding economic data for each of the autonomous communities and finding other sources of data, like IDESCAT, which the Spanish sources refer to for Catalan specifics.

I use economic data from the World Bank, Eurostat, and CIS. The World Bank and Eurostat provide data and information that ranges from GDP and GDP per capita for the Spanish state to breakdowns of the economic status of the autonomous communities. These short summaries provide background information in regards to how each economy is performing and how they are doing so, focusing on the sectors of success and growth.

3. Method

My dependent variable is the level of support for nationalist political parties in the chosen autonomous communities. This is shown through the percentage of regional parliamentary seats held by nationalist parties. My independent variables are economics, politics, and national identity. The economic variable is GDP per capita. The variable describing regional identity is

10 the percent of people that speak the language of the cultural group in the autonomous community. This study examines how the success of nationalist parties are affected by the other independent variables.

I hypothesize that the level of success of nationalist parties in the Basque Country, Navarre,

Catalonia, and Galicia differ due to the differing linguistic, economic, and historic factors. I hypothesize that a strong economy leads to support for a nationalist party. I hypothesize that autonomous communities with a higher percentage of people that speak the regional language have more successful nationalist parties.

Literature Review

Historical Review

The Spanish nation-state itself does not have an extensive history. Just as it is now, Spain has almost always been a collection of different autonomous groups, each with its own differing level of autonomy. The earliest instance of a united Spain dates to the 15th Century, with the unification of the kingdoms of Castile-León and and the completion of the

(O’Callaghan 1975). This held for about two centuries, until the War of

Spanish Succession, which implanted the Bourbon dynasty that still stands the monarchy of

Spain today and created Spanish borders that closer resemble contemporary ones. Within this history, each of the autonomous communities selected for this project have their own nationalist stories.

1. Basque Country

The Basque Country has a nationalist and autonomous history dating back to the kingdoms of the Middle Ages. The Basque people were split into three different kingdoms that

11 are now the three provinces that make up the autonomous community, , , and

Biscay. An important symbol of Basque autonomy and nationalism is the Tree of Guernica. The

Tree of Guernica was a symbol of Biscayan freedoms that has been extended to the whole

Basque people. The many villages of would meet to create laws under trees, and eventually, Guernica was chosen to host assemblies featuring representatives from each of the villages. The laws of Biscay would continue to be written in Guernica until the 1800’s. When the

Crown of Castile incorporated the Domain of Biscay, Ferdinand made an oath to the people of Biscay under the Tree of Guernica to respect the Biscayan laws that were already in place, giving the Basques a high level of autonomy throughout the centuries to follow. While these laws and agreements were frequently re-negotiated and infringed upon by Spanish and rulers, a level of peace lasted until the in the 19th century (Collins 1990).

The Carlist Wars were a series of civil wars for succession to the Spanish throne that lasted through most of the 19th century. The country was split into two groups, those who followed Carlos, the second of Charles IV, and those who supported the Queen

Regent, Maria Cristina, and her government. The Basque Country was one of the centers of conflict of the war, as many Basques supported the Carlist cause. The liberal regime that was being installed under Maria Cristina questioned region-specific law agreements and customs that had been in place for centuries. In the Basque case, this was the agreement that the Spanish crown would abide by Basque laws in the region. However, the Basques were not united in fighting for this cause. Those fighting for the Carlist side were likely influenced by either local politics and the hopes maintaining their autonomy or by the . Basque clergy members had a high level of influence over the rural areas and lower class, as they continually used the Basque language when schools and administration had been instructed to use Spanish. The Basque

12 also supported the Carlists as they wanted to maintain their status and power; the establishment of a traditionalist total monarchy would secure that. The liberal Basques typically were those in the middle class and those who lived in larger cities. The Basque, especially

Biscayan, economy was heavily based in shipping and large coastal cities, like Bilbao, were benefactors of this and liberal support (Coverdale 1984). The liberal government won each of the three Carlist Wars, and abolished the Basque self-government following the end of the Third

Carlist War in 1876 (Uriarte 2015).

The abolition of the Basque self-government led to the birth of the Basque nationalist movement and the creation of the (Partido Nacionalista Vasco) in 1895.

The PNV is a conservative political party that opposes , , and Spanish nationalism. It began winning seats soon after creation, at the end of the 19th century. The start of the 20th century was marked by industrialization and an expansion of the Basque economy before the start of the Spanish (Collins 1990). Following the Catalan lead, the Basque government attempted to file a statute for self-government in 1931. The pulled out of the project after initial support, but this did not stop the Basque government. The statute was eventually approved in 1936, once the only Basque province that had not been conquered by Franco was Biscay. One of the most controversial events from the Spanish Civil

War was the by Nazi at Franco’s behest (Pereira-Muro 2015).

The bombing of Guernica was the first major Francoist attack on the Basque people and culture. Throughout his reign as dictator of Spain, Franco consistently attempted to wipe out minorities in the Spanish state. His regime passed laws aimed at removing the Basque language and culture. This persecution led to strong backlash from the Basque Country starting in the

1960’s. A nationalist political movement, called Euskadi Ta (ETA), arose and turned

13 to violence as a main form of protest. Due its public use of violence, ETA became a well-known face of a more widespread movement against Spanish domination in the Basque Country.

Franco’s regime survived until 1975, and in the aftermath of Franco’s death, a new constitution was written in 1978.

Even though a large percentage of voters abstained from the referendum, the Basque

Country voted in favor of adopting the 1978 Spanish Constitution (Collins 1990). Even with the adoption of this constitution, the violence brought to the region by ETA continued through the mid-1980’s, as ETA fought with police forces and other illegal groups. In this time, the Basque

Country worked within the framework of the Spanish Constitution to regain many of its self- governing powers, including its own parliament, police force, school system, and taxation control. ETA officially ceased its militarism in 2011 and dissolved in 2018 (Jones 2018).

The main Basque nationalist party over the last decade has been EAJ-PNV (Euzko

Alderdi Jeltzalea-Partido Nacionalista Vasco). EAJ-PNV is still active to this day. Another

Basque nationalist party that garners support today is called EH Bildu. Formerly active Basque parties that are included in this study are Aralar and EHAK-PCTV (Euskal Herrialdeetako Alderi

Comunista-Partido Comunista de las Tierras Vascas, or Communist Party of the Basque

Homelands). Aralar dissolved in 2017 and EHAK-PCTV was outlawed after it was discovered that the party was supporting the previously outlawed (El País, 2009).

2. Navarre

Navarre has a strong link with the Basque Country due to their Basque connection, but there have been many occasions in which other ideologies or groups took precedent over this supposed allegiance. Throughout the Middle Ages, Navarre was its own kingdom, much like

14 each of the Basque provinces. As such, it was self-governed into the 1600’s, when a Chartered

Government was created. This allowed the to continue its self-governing.

This lasted until the Carlist Wars.

Much like in Biscay, Gipuzkoa, and Álava, in the aftermath of the , self- governance in Navarre was eliminated in 1839. Two years later, the Act for the Modification of

Fueros made Navarre an official province of the Spanish state (Ley Paccionada 1841). The following years in Spain were marked by instability and a spread of Carlist ideology. As part of this spread, Carlist leaders took over Navarre and the other Basque provinces. After the end of the , attempts at nullifying or sidestepping the that were allowed in the

1841 were met with backlash from the Basque, and especially in Navarre (Jimeno Jurio 2007).

The negative reaction by the people of Navarre became known as the and was the reaction in 1893 and 1894 to the attempt at the suppression of the fueros set in 1841 by then

Spanish financial minister, Germán Gamazo (Jimeno Jurio 2007). The Government of Navarre sent a formal protest to the action before sending any delegations and any of the movements made by citizens. This protest was seconded by both the Navarrese press and smaller local governments. This offer to negotiate with was rebuffed, and the people began marching to speak out against the Spanish state’s overstep. Even with the wide range of protests, the

Congress of Deputies approved Gamazo’s initiatives in 1893 (Vázquez de Prada 1993). As such, the Navarrese Government went back to Madrid to negotiate in 1894. These negotiations went nowhere; nonetheless, the law did not go into effect. A similar bill was sent to the of

Deputies a year later, but never reached the floor for debate. This defense of the fueros strengthened the ties between Navarre and the Basque Country until the .

15

In the buildup to the Spanish Civil War, two of the Basque regions split allegiances from the other pair. Navarre and Álava supported the rebelling forces led by Franco while Biscay and

Gipuzkoa supported the 2nd . After the war, as a sort of reward for the support, Franco allowed Navarre to keep some of the liberties that they were afforded before the war. As the state shifted towards democracy after the fall of the Francoist regime, Navarre was considered a part of the Basque Country again by ETA, and Navarre, too, was troubled with the violence that ETA spread from the late-20th and early-21st centuries. In the same time frame, Navarre again distanced itself from the other Basque communities.

The leadership from before the democratic shift split into a few groups, including one called the Unión del Pueblo , or UPN. This group in power refused to join the democratic constitutional process unless Navarre’s charters remained in place. However, they also did not join in the Basque process of becoming an autonomous community as new Basque nationalist and left-leaning parties had taken control. Instead, Navarre took its own route and became the Chartered Community of Navarre in 1982. With this in mind, there are still active

Basque nationalist parties in Navarre.

One of the major Basque parties in Navarre is EH Bildu. The other party that holds seats in the Navarrese parliament is called , a coalition that includes EAJ-PNV. Even with multiple active parties, the Basque nationalist movement has not been the most successful over the years. Instead, UPN or , another anti-Basque nationalist, pro-Spanish party, have held the presidency more often than not. Although a vocal minority of Basque citizens vote nationalist parties into the Navarrese parliament, geographically, the Basque population of

Navarre is relatively isolated in the north of the autonomous community.

3. Catalonia

16

Both Catalan independence and submission date back to the Middle Ages. In the 12th century, , its own kingdom at the time, became part of the Aragonese Crown via , and became the Principality of Catalonia. Over the centuries, this territory would change hands between the Spanish and French crowns and be involved in a number of conflicts.

Leading up to the Carlist Wars, Catalonia had recently been recaptured by the Spanish after the region was annexed by Napoleonic .

In this state of uncertainty and in the face of violence, Catalonia was divided in a way similar to the Basque Country. People who lived on the more industrialized coast and in larger cities supported the liberal government, whereas the more rural areas were Carlist. After the liberal victory in the First Carlist War, a revival of , culture, and art called the

Renaixença.

The Renaixença brought back the Catalan language and literature after those had been repressed by both the centralist Spanish and French governments. Even with its start as a cultural movement, the Renaixença became a political movement after the failure of the First Spanish

Republic. This part of the movement focused on regaining the ability of self-government again within the framework of the Spanish state. While this was the political goal of the Renaixança, the literature being produced at the time helped to spark another movement.

In similar fashion to other Romantic movements, the Renaixança made historical analysis a strong role. Major texts by Catalan authors focused on the and helped to build the foundations of the Catalan nationalist movement. These ideas did not take hold in the political sphere for some time because the Catalan upper class still believed that they, at some point, would be in positions of power within the Spanish state (Conversi 1997).

17

This idea crumbled through the mid-1800’s. Following decades of discrimination at the hands of the Spanish ruling class, the hope that Catalan industrialists could lead the state died out. In this environment, the formerly Spanish supporting Catalan upper class made the switch to supporting an independent Catalonia. As such, the Catalan nationalist movement endeared itself to both those living in rural areas and industrialized areas; both conservatives and in

Catalonia. This situation, along with the Spanish loss of its last colonial possessions in 1898, provided a situation in which Catalanism could grow. The first pro-nationalist Catalan political party, the Lliga Regionalista or Regionalist League of Catalonia, was founded in 1901 and lasted until 1936, when it dissolved in the early stages of the Spanish Civil War (Llobera 2004).

The main goal of the Lliga Regionalista was not for Catalan independence in the new liberal Spanish context of the 2nd Republic. Instead, the party settled for a self-governing

Catalonia within the newly progressive Spanish system. It advocated for both and a strengthening of Catalonia’s right to self-govern (Payne 1991). The main achievement of the

Lliga Regionalista was the creation of the Commonwealth of Catalonia in 1914, which combined the four Catalan provinces and gave this group limited administrative powers. The early attempt at writing and approving a Statute of Autonomy in 1919 led to the creation of more radical offshoots from the Lliga Regionalista.

Two main radicalized parties were created in the fallout from the failure to attain autonomy in 1919. Acció Catalana was a left-leaning Catalan nationalist party that lasted from the early 1920’s to 1931. It was mainly supportive of liberal-democratic catalanism that followed the rule of law (Gabriel 2000). Estat Catalá was the other major party that rose out of the Lliga

Regionalista. It was more focused on pure independence from Spain and had a level of success politically. In 1931, the Esquerra Republicana de Catalunya, or ERC, was born of a merger

18 between Estat Catalá and the Catalan Republican Party. This new party won the Catalan election, and immediately began advocating for a in with Spain. Instead, the

ERC accepted an autonomous Catalan government, recovering the historical name: .

This level of autonomy was taken away swiftly at the conclusion of the Spanish Civil

War. In the early years of Franco’s regime, members of the Generalitat and Catalan supporters of the 2nd Republic were systematically found and executed by the regime. In this era of repression, several Catalan movements survived in the underground, including the designation of a symbolic

Catalan president. At the end of Franco’s reign, Catalonia wrote and approved via referendum a

Statute of Autonomy, becoming an autonomous community and historic nationality in 1978.

Since the mid-2000’s, Catalonia has seen a dramatic political shift towards nationalism and support for independence. A series of referendums and demonstrations over the previous two decades came to a head in 2017 with the declaration of the referendum for Catalan independence.

This study does not use the results from the 2017 re-election of the Catalan parliament, as it was a and the other autonomous communities would not have had a change of seats.

In the 2015 election, there were two discernable Catalán nationalist parties. The winningest of the three was JxSí (Junts pel Sí). The other was CUP ( Candidacy).

Earlier Catalán nationalist parties include CiU () and ERC-CatSí

(Republican Left of Catalonia-Catalonia Yes).

4. Galicia

Much like the other autonomous communities examined here, Galician autonomy and self-governance date to the Middle Ages. During the early creation of a Spanish state under one

19 crown, the was annexed by the Kingdom of León. Over the centuries, the

Galicians had to be forcibly kept a part of the Castilian state, but allowed to self-govern to a degree through the Junta of the Kingdom of Galicia, a . The Kingdom of

Galicia came to an end in the 1800’s.

After the death of King Ferdinand VII in 1833, Maria Christina attempted to find a way to satiate both the Carlists and the liberals. A major action made to this end was a territorial reform that created the centralized Spanish state (Carlos Marichal 1970). This decree officially brought an end to the Kingdom of Galicia and created a province that more closely resembles the autonomous community that exists today. The decree also recognized Galicia as a historical region, although the title was solely honorific. This, along with centuries of Spanish domination, drove Galician nationalist movements.

The ignition of in the 19th century sparked two major movements in this century. The first was the Solís Uprising, an unsuccessful coup attempt made in 1846 against the president of the Spanish Royal Council, Ramón Narváez. Narváez abolished many historic rights afforded to Galicia and other historically autonomous regions. The uprising was quickly stamped out, and survivors of the coup were executed by Narváez. In the aftermath of this defeat, the other major Galician movement of the 19th century began.

Much like in Catalonia, the Galician people had a cultural renaissance, called the

Rexurdimento. Chronologically and in content, the coincided with the

Renaixença. The Rexurdimento revived the usage of Galician in general, but publications in the language began gaining traction again. The two main genres in Galician were political texts and literature like poetry and short stories ( Calero 1963). The history of Galicia also

20 returned to the mainstream and helped bring the idea of forward in the late-19th and early-20th century.

Nationalist politics formed in Galicia through Solidaridad Gallega, a coalition of nationalist political parties. It was modeled after the success of the merged parties in Catalonia.

This organization lasted until 1912, but another major movement started four years later.

Irmandades da Fala was originally a cultural group, but it grew and transformed into a nationalist party that stuck out as it only used the Galician language. It survived until the start of the Spanish

Civil War (Beramendi 2007).

Before the start of the Spanish Civil War, Galicia was one of the regions to apply for autonomy under the 2nd Spanish Republic. During this time period, the Partido Galeguista was the most important in a group of parties shifting towards nationalism. This party was integral in the completion and adoption of the Galician Statute of Autonomy in 1936. It was voted on in a referendum, and Galicia was granted autonomy; however, this statute never went into effect due to the start of the Civil War.

Galicia was one of the first regions of Spain to fall to Franco’s military. For the most part, the wartime fighting in Galicia was minimal as it was one of the areas in which the initial coup succeeded. However, that is not to say that there were no costs. Under Franco, Galicia’s autonomy was annulled, culture was repressed, and political parties abolished. The abolition of political parties also included other nationalist organizations. The repression of Galicia included the execution of many political figures, namely those who supported Galician nationalism, communists, socialists, republicans, and anarchists. There were attempts at resistance, but they were minor and quickly ended by the Francoist regime (Fernandez 2005). Under Franco, Galicia saw little modernization and remained an agricultural center for the Spanish state.

21

Modernization and a revival of nationalist spirit occurred in the final decades of Franco’s rule. There was a string of strikes and demonstrations in the 1970’s that were quelled by the regime. Soon after the return to democracy in 1978, Galicia adopted another Statute of

Autonomy in 1981. The success of nationalist political parties has been mixed since then.

The most successful party has been the Partido Popular, Spain’s main conservative party.

This party lost its fifteen-year hold on Galicia in 2005 when a coalition of the Galician Socialists

Party and Bloque Nacionalista Galego took power. The Partido Popular regained control of the government. The Galician nationalist parties that have held seats in the time frame used for this study are En Marea, BNG-Nós (Galician Nationalist Bloc-Nós Candidatura Galega), and AGE

(Galician Alternative of the Left). For the most part, these parties identify themselves as nationalist parties or are coalitions that include major nationalist parties.

Theoretical Framework

There are two major theories that this thesis deals with. Firstly, and more importantly, this work wrestles with the multiple theories behind nationalism and needs to answer a few questions: what is nationalism? how are born? what qualifies as a nation? and, how do these cases fit into the framework of nationalism? just to name a few.

To start, there are two main groups within the study of nationalism. They are those who prescribe to a constructivist view of nationalism and those who prescribe to a primordialist view.

Constructivists tend to believe that nationalism is a modern creation and it has been created as a means to an end, be those ends political or economic. Primordialists, on the other hand, believe that both nations and nationalism have existed for centuries, if not longer (Smith 1986). This

22 study defines nationalism in a way similar to how many of the famous constructivists, namely

Benedict Anderson, would. I define a nation as a socially constructed group or community that defines itself through a shared heritage or culture (Anderson 2006). Nationalism is the ideology and movements that that promote the shared interests of a nation. Usually, those interests have the main goal of both acquiring and maintaining a nation’s sovereignty or self-governance.

Before defining how the cases chosen for this study fit these guidelines, it is important to note what exactly that definition means and how nations are created.

According to Anderson, a nation is an imagined political community. This description can be broken down into two major defining parts: the idea that a nation is imagined and that they are communities. In his own words, Anderson writes that a nation “is imagined because the members of even the smallest nation will never know most of their fellow-members… yet in the minds of each lives the image of their communion” (Anderson 2006). In this quote, he states that even though the majority of members of a nation will likely never meet, each of them have the idea that they are all a part of the same community. The community aspect of this can best be described as a “deep, horizontal comradeship” (Anderson 2006). This description best helps to outline how no matter how unequal the reality of the community may be, the deep comradeship prevails, leading people over the last few centuries to risk their own livelihoods, or even lives in some cases, to preserve their imagined community. Another important aspect of this puzzle is how the idea of an imagined community intersects with how people interact and promote the shared interests of their nation.

The theory of invented tradition was described by another constructivist, Eric

Hobsbawm. In The Invention of Tradition, Hobsbawm argues that many of the traditions that appear to be historic symbols of a community are actually recent in origin and are often invented

23

(Hobsbawm 1983). He posits that this is a modern phenomenon that is clear in its effect in the development of nations and nationalism. These traditions that may or may not have been invented create a sense of national identity, which promotes national unity and legitimizes nationalist institutions and cultural practices. This theory makes a distinction between inventing traditions and starting a tradition. Hobsbawm claims that the difference is that traditions that have been started at a particular point in time do not claim to be archaic in origin. The theory of invented tradition was instrumental in the creation of the theory of imagined communities and how nationalism is framed by Anderson. He boils down the causes of nationalism into three main driving factors.

Anderson identifies a few main causes of nationalism in this theory of imagined communities, and each point to nationalism being a modern phenomenon. One is the declining importance of privileged access to particular script languages. This cause of nationalism is modern in that the operative word in the phrase “privileged access to particular script languages” is privileged. As a whole, the phrase harkens back to the point in time in which only the upper class of society was literate. The shift from privileged literacy to universal literacy is both modern and linked with one of the other main causes of nationalism as outlined by Anderson.

One of the other main causes of nationalism outlined by Anderson is the advent of

“ ”. Printing press capitalism is defined as the convergence of capitalism and print technology. This coming together of technology and economics occurred with the start of the Industrial Revolution. The print technology came in the form standardized calendars and well-distributed books and newspapers. The new distribution of history, literature, and daily information assisted in the spread of vernacular language among middle- and lower-class people

24 who previously did not have access to these materials. This increasing spread of information is linked to the third main cause of nationalism provided by Anderson.

The final main cause of nationalism according to Anderson is the movement to abolish the idea that rulers had divine right, therefore also abolishing the idea of a hereditary monarchy.

This is a strongly defined liberal political idea that would not have been accessible to the masses without a certain level of general literacy or the ability to effectively distribute the information throughout the imagined community. It is important to view these case studies within this framework built by Anderson.

To start, Anderson describes the nation and nationalism as modern creations. Modern history is widely considered to start just after the medieval period and has continued until contemporary history. Although each of the autonomous communities chosen for this study have histories dating further back than that, the primordial events that transpired were not nationalist, instead those histories were used during the modern period, within a constructivist framework, to build the idea of a nation. They did so in a few different ways.

The Basque people, while split into three main regions for many centuries, rallied around a political symbol: The Tree of Guernica. This tree, and city, became cultural symbols through two major events. This tree was the site at which King Ferdinand promised the Basque people that the Spanish state would allow the Basques to self-govern and maintain their laws, or fueros.

This historical event would be a point of contention between Basque nationalists and the Spanish state, as monarchs would continue to use this site as a place of influence with the Basque people until the 1800’s (Collins 1990). The second is the bombing of Guernica. By 1937, Guernica had been well established as a part of the Basque identity. Franco requested the bombing of the civilian city to clear a path to Bilbao, and the German military obliged. While the number of

25 casualties is disputed, the fact that a city of civilians was targeted was met with global outrage.

The destruction of a national symbol galvanized the Basque people in their solidarity during the

Francoist regime. This common enemy only made itself more of an enemy later in the 20th century with its persecution and suppression of the Basque language and culture. Language and literature have been an important factor to the nations within the Spanish state.

Per Anderson, the advent of print capitalism is one of the main causes of nationalism.

This idea is supported by these cases as well. In the Basque Country, the early stages of the

Basque nationalist movement were started by an author, . Before founding the

Basque Nationalist Party, Arana was an early defender of the use of the Basque language in all areas of society. He advocated for this as an attempt to slow the marginalization of Basque in the face of impositions. He later published works that emphasized the importance of Basque history and culture to the Basque people. In 1894, Arana founded the Basque

Nationalist Party, sparking the most successful political party in the Basque Country’s history and a nationalist movement that would fight oppression for decades. Along with creating the party itself, Arana and his brother invented the symbols used to this day by Basque nationalists, and the Basque Autonomous Community itself. The Basque movement in Navarre is the same one as in the Basque Country and has the same origin. Arana himself was involved in the

Navarrese Basque nationalist movement. During the Gamazada, the anti-Spanish protests in

Navarre, Arana went to Navarre and participated in the protests. Along with his presence, the coverage of the events by local press assisted in the spread of the ideology behind the movement in Navarre. Galicia and Catalonia had similar linguistic movements that proliferated the spread of their respective nationalist movements.

26

Both Galicia and Catalonia had movements that started with the revival of their regional language. In Catalonia, the Renaixança revived both the Catalan language and history that would become the basis of the Catalan nationalist movement. Catalan authors began reviving the history of the region with an emphasis on literature, and news. The spread of daily news in

Catalan helped in the revival of the language and the societal focus on preserving the language.

This new mainstream recognition of the language by the masses coupled with the growing dissent and distaste of the Spanish state set the stage for the creation of nationalist political parties and sentiments. This process in Catalonia mirrors the one that happened in Galicia in a similar time period.

Galicia went through a period called the Rexurdimento almost simultaneously as

Catalonia had its Renaixança. In Galicia, the Rexurdimento marked a revival of Galician, and set the foundation for Galicianist movements that would last through Franco’s regime. The linguistic movement focused mostly on poetry and literature. Nevertheless, the revival of the Galician language after years of repression by the Spanish state would help the to survive the following decades of repression under Franco. Even though the Spanish state is still technically a monarchy, each of these autonomous communities also have shown at some point that they would not be ruled by an absolute monarch.

Early in Basque history, the main Basque region came to the conclusion that would not be led by an absolute monarch. As previously stated, Biscay has been home to a representative democratic process for centuries. Each small village would send representatives to one central assembly to make decisions and pass laws. Prior to and following being conquered by the

Castilian Crown, Navarre has a long history of self-governance as both its own kingdom and as a chartered community. Catalonia was the first region to apply a statute of autonomy under the 2nd

27

Spanish Republic, leading the way for other future autonomous communities. Galicia is similar to Navarre in that historically, Galicia has had periods of complete sovereignty and varying levels of autonomy within a larger state. Since the ratification of the most recent Spanish constitution in 1978, the Spanish political system has been well-suited for the growth of nationalist political parties.

Following the fall of the Francoist regime, the Spanish state needed to find its way. In the wake of that oppressive fascist regime that isolated Spain from much of the world, particularly the rest of Europe, the Constitution of 1978 reestablished the Spanish monarchy in a symbolic role, built a representative , and allowed regions a high level of autonomy.

The Constitution of 1978 renamed the provinces of , and called them autonomous communities. Each of these autonomous communities has a high level of autonomy.

The Spanish political system is not considered a true federal system. Instead, the Spanish government is a decentralized unitary state. Sovereignty for this type of system is vested in the state and its central institutions. The central government also has the power to pass laws, make legal rulings, interpret the Spanish Constitution, and create administrative divisions. In the case of Spain, each of the autonomous communities is considered an administrative division. In differing degrees, the central government has devolved its power to each of the autonomous communities (Moreno 2002).

The differing level of is set by Statutes of Autonomy that had to be both passed via referendum in the autonomous community and ratified by the Spanish government.

As such, this system allows those autonomous communities with stronger nationalist ideas to give their autonomous community a higher level of autonomy and more powers that a state’s government would. For example, some autonomous communities may not have the power to

28 control and collect taxes within the community, whereas others may have given the government of the autonomous community the power to do that. This asymmetrical devolution of power has made it easier for the Basque Country, Navarre, Galicia, and Catalonia to put more power in the hands of their , and in the case of the Basque Country and Catalonia, in the hand of nationalist political parties (Moreno 2002).

These theories are important to understand while analyzing data and how the variables chosen for this study affect the success of nationalist parties in the selected autonomous communities.

Data and Analysis

The first of three variables being examined are the percentage of respondents that are listed as “understanding” of their regional language. Each of the surveys asks how much of their regional language respondents speak. Shared language is a defining factor of cultural identity, as it is viewed as a commonality through which people connect. This study hypothesizes that nationalist movements are more successful in regions that have higher percentages of local language speakers. In the Spanish case, language has been a core of nationalist ideology. Each of the autonomous communities chosen have their regional language delegated as an ; the Spanish Constitution of 1978 has the Basque Country, Galicia, and Catalonia designated as historic nationalities based on their former level of self-governance and linguistic differences; and, both Galicia and Catalonia had linguistic and cultural renaissances that helped spark nationalist movements in the 20th century. The second variable is GDP per capita of the chosen autonomous communities, as well as Spain as a whole. The Spanish GDP is used as a benchmark. Comparing the autonomous communities’ economic performances to the Spanish economy allows me to better frame the economic performance of each individual autonomous

29 community by comparing it to the state’s average. I hypothesize that a strong economy leads to support for a nationalist party. The third variable is the percentage of parliamentary seats held by a nationalist party in these selected autonomous communities. This is my dependent variable that shows the level of support for the nationalist parties in these autonomous communities.

The data for this research comes from a range of European and Spanish sources. Each of the data sets that cover the language spoken is provided by the regional governments. The

Basque government has conducted a sociolinguistic survey every five years in the Basque

Autonomous Community and Navarre starting in the late 1990s. I was unable to access the Third

Sociolinguistic Survey; the data here is from the Fourth, Fifth, and Sixth surveys. The data from

Galicia is provided by the Insituto Galego de Estatística (IGE). The Catalonian data is from the

Institut d’Estadística de Catalunya (IDESCAT). The economic data is compiled by a national,

Spanish service: the Instituto Naciónal de Estadística (INE). Election data is provided by the

Junta Electoral Central.

Data

Table 1. Percent of respondents age 16 and older that at least “understand” a regional language

Autonomous Community 2003 2008 2013 2018

Basque Autonomous Community … 48.4 49.4 41.1

Navarre … 18.7 19.2 13.1

Galicia 89.6 89.2 86.9 88.1

Catalonia 94.4 93.6 94.8 …

30

This table shows the percentage of respondents who speak at least a standard level of their regional language (Basque in the Basque Autonomous Community and Navarre, Galician in

Galicia, and Catalan in Catalonia). The data shows a very high percentage of speakers of a regional language in Galicia and Catalonia. Approximately half of people in the Basque

Autonomous Community speak the Basque language, and a much smaller percentage of respondents from Navarre speak Basque.

The data from the Basque Autonomous Community and Navarre shows a slight decline in Basque literacy from 2013 to 2018. The data from Galicia and Catalonia both show that respondents’ literacy has been consistent over the last fifteen years.

The studies focusing on language fluency provide a few different conclusions in regards to language usage. According to the Sixth Sociolinguistic Survey, the decline in language competency in both the Basque Autonomous Community and Navarre is partially due to age demographics (Servicio Central de Publicaciones del Gobierno Vasco, 2016). In 2013 and earlier, the young adult and elderly were the primary speakers of Basque. Both the Basque

Autonomous Community and Navarre have aging populations and low birth rates (European

Commission, 2019). In Galicia, the language is primarily spoken in rural areas, as it has been competing with Spanish in urban areas (IGE, 2016). Catalan is widely spoken, and in some rural areas, is the primary language (IDESCAT, 2013). However, Spanish is still the most spoken language in major cities and business capitals.

31

Table 2. GDP per capita, in

Autonomous Community/ 2000 2005 2010 2015 2018

Country

Basque Autonomous Community 19,542 26,502 30,114 30,568 34,079

Navarre 20,287 26,594 28,752 28,925 31,809

Galicia 12,372 17,667 20,574 20,660 23,294

Catalonia 19,383 25,205 27,192 27,765 30,769

Spain 15,935 21,313 23,215 23,296 25,854

The above table shows the GDP per capita of the four cases and Spain as a whole. This data is a good way of showing an area’s general standard of living. The strongest of the group is that of the Basque Autonomous Community, with substantial growth from 2015 to 2018. The weakest is the Galician economy, which is below the Spanish average.

32

The Spanish economy as a whole has shown a lot of growth over the last two decades.

The country’s GDP per capita has grown by 162 percent. However, there was a period of stagnation between 2010 and 2015. This was a general period of recovery from the 2008 economic crisis (European Commission, 2016). After this recovery period, all of these economies continued to grow.

Table 3. Percentage of local parliamentary seats held by a nationalist party

Autonomous Community 2006 2010 2012 2016

Basque Autonomous Community 52.00 46.67 64.00 61.00

Navarre (Basque Party) 16.00 24.00 30.00 34.00

Galicia 17.33 16.00 21.33 26.67

Catalonia 51.12 56.30 54.82 53.34

This table shows the percentage of regional parliamentary seats held by nationalist parties over the last four elections.

Catalonia and the Basque Autonomous Community have had significantly higher percentages of parliamentary seats held by nationalist parties than Galicia and Navarre. Both

Catalonia and the Basque Autonomous Community have had just around 50 percent of their parliamentary seats held by nationalist parties for the last decade. The Galician and Navarrese

33 parliamentary bodies have fewer seats held by nationalist parties, but there is an upward trend in the percentage of those seats.

Analysis

Diagram 1. Scatterplot comparing success of nationalist parties and GDP per capita.

GDP/Capita 60 50 40

30 Parties 20 10 0 0 5000 10000 15000 20000 25000 30000 GDP per capita

This scatterplot compares the average level of success of nationalist parties and the average GDP per capita of the autonomous communities. As shown, there appears to be no direct correlation between the prosperity of an autonomous community and the average level of success of nationalist political parties. While two of the stronger economies, Catalonia and the Basque

Country, have high percentages of parliamentary seats being held by nationalist parties, the autonomous community with the second highest average GDP per capita, Navarre, has a significantly lower percentage of seats being held by Basque parties.

Based on the data sets above, even if one were to plot this out by year, there would be no correlation between the variables. The data shows that as the GDP per capita of the autonomous communities has consistently grown or remained the same, the percentage of parliamentary seats held by nationalist parties has been inconsistent. In the Basque Country and Catalonia, there have

34 been ebbs and flows in the level of nationalist success. However, the growth in success for nationalist parties has been more consistent in Navarre and Galicia. With that said, the overall level of success is to a smaller degree.

Diagram 2. Scatterplot comparing success of nationalist parties and language knowledge.

Language Knowledge 60 50 40 30

Parties 20 10 0 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100 Language

This scatterplot compares the average level of success of nationalist parties and the average level of language competency over the last ten years. The diagram shows no correlation between the average competency of a regional language and the success of a nationalist party in that autonomous community. The scatterplot shows that the autonomous communities with the highest average level of language competency, Catalonia and Galicia, are on the opposite ends of the spectrum of the average level of success of their nationalist parties. On the other hand, the

Basque Country, which has the highest average percentage of parliamentary seats held by nationalist parties, has an average percentage of people competent in the language just around

50%. Navarre, which has a higher average percentage of nationalist held parliamentary seats than

Galicia, has the lowest average level of regional language competency. There are historic and geographic elements that factor into this data, however.

35

The Basque population in Navarre is much smaller than that of the Basque Country, and is relatively isolated in the northern area of the autonomous community, closer to their fellow

Basques living in the Basque Country. The rest of Navarre is split into two sections. The central portion of the autonomous community speaks primarily Spanish, but has a definite Basque infusion. The southern area of Navarre is completely Spanish-speaking. Both Catalonia and

Galicia had major cultural movements in the late-19th century that revived the language through politics and literature.

36

Conclusions

From the analysis of the two scatterplots and data above, I can confidently conclude that both my hypotheses are incorrect in this study. The analysis shows a lack of correlation between the average GDP per capita and the average percentage of parliamentary seats held by nationalist parties in the selected autonomous communities. It also shows a lack of correlation between the average percent of survey respondents who have a certain level of language competency and the average percentage of parliamentary seats held by nationalist parties. While these variables may not correlate with each other, there are historic elements that can help to describe the differences between the variables from these autonomous communities.

When it comes to language usage, both Catalonia and Galicia had renaissances of culture and language in the 19th century, whereas the Basque Country and Navarre did not. This can help provide an idea of why the current language usage and competency is much higher in the former two than the latter. In Navarre specifically, the majority of the population does not speak Basque because they do not live in the Basque speaking part of the country. Economically, the Basque

Country, Navarre, and Catalonia had periods of industrialization and modernization either before or early in the 20th century. Galicia, on the other hand, had little to no modernization until late in the Francoist regime. When it comes to the success of the nationalist parties, I am unsure as to why they differ so greatly. All four of these autonomous communities have had periods of self- governance, as well as full autonomy. All three of Galicia, Catalonia, and the Basque Country

37 had partially successful Statutes of Autonomy before the start of the Spanish Civil War. Navarre, on the other hand, backed out of the Basque attempt for autonomy due to the Navarrese government’s Carlist ties. Each of Galicia, Catalonia, and the Basque Country had a nationalist party or coalition prior to the start of the Spanish Civil War. Of those three, only Galicia fell to

Franco’s initial coup. The ensuing execution of political dissidents early in the regime could help to explain the weakening of nationalist ideas in Galicia during the mid-20th century.

With all of this in mind, there are a few reasons of why these hypotheses as presented were disproven. Firstly, the data being used could be incompatible with the ideas being presented. Language competency may not be the best way to describe national identity. Instead, I could have found a series of surveys asking how individuals personally identify. The success of nationalist political parties also may not have been the best way to show general support for nationalist ideas. Again, it could have been better to use surveys that asked respondents to say whether they support nationalist ideals or not. I find this study valuable in showing how much a common history can affect a group of people. Historical events that are revived and rebranded can both bring people together for a united cause or they can drive people apart. This is a study and question that can be posed for different regions across the globe and would be worth studying further in the hopes of finding a conclusive answer as to why these nationalist movements are as strong, or as weak, as they are.

38

Bibliography

Anderson, Benedict. 2006. Imagined Communities: Reflections on The Origin and Spread of

Nationalism. London: Verso.

Basmanova, Anna Alexandrovna. 2018. “ in the Basque Country.” RUDN Journal of

Political Science. Vol. 20 No. 3 365-375

Beramendi, X.G. 2007. De provincia a nación. Historia do galleguismo político. : Xerais.

Clark, Robert P. 1979. The Basques: the Franco Years and Beyond. Reno: University of Nevada

Press.

Carballo Calero, Ricardo. 1963. Historia da literatura galega contemporánea. Vigo: Galaxia.

Conversi, Daniele. 1997. The Basques, the Catalans, and Spain: Alternative Routes to

Nationalist Mobilization. Reno: University of Nevada Press.

Cooper, Amanda. 2012. “Analysis: Basque economy has lessons for Spain” Reuters. https://www.reuters.com/article/us-spain-economy-basque/analysis-basque-economy-has- lessons-for-spain-idUSBRE85R0K120120628

Coverdale, John F. 1984. The Basque Phase of Spain's First Carlist War. Princeton: Princeton

University Press.

39

European Commission, Nomenclature of Territorial Units for Statistics. 2019. Growth: Internal

Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship, and SME’s. Luxembourg.

Gellner, Ernest. 1997. Nationalism. Washington Square, NY: New York University Press.

Githens-Mazer, Jonathan. 2012. “.” Encyclopedia of Global Religion. Ed.

Mark Juergensmeyer and Wade Clark Roof. Vol. 1. , CA.

Hobsbawm, Eric & Ranger, Terence. 1983. The Invention of Tradition. Cambridge: Cambridge

University Press.

Jones, Sam. 2018. "Basque separatist group Eta announces dissolution". The Guardian.

Kerr, Stephanie. 2019. “Ally or competitor? Militant Basque Nationalism's Reaction to the New

Spanish Left.” Journal of the Association for the study of Ethnicity and Nationalism. 25 (2): 587-

606

Minder, Raphael and Barry, Ellen. 2017. “Catalonia’s Independence Vote Descends Into Chaos and Clashes”. The New York Times.

Moreno, Luís. 2002. “Decentralization in Spain”. Regional Studies, Vol. 36 p 399-408.

Muro, Diego. 2009. “The Politics of War Memory in Radical Basque Nationalism.” Ethnic and

Racial Studies. 32,(4): 659-678.

O'Callaghan, F. 1975. A History of Medieval Spain. Ithaca: Cornell University Press.

Perez-Agote, Alfonso. 2006. The Social Roots of Basque Nationalism. Translated by Cameron

Watson and William A. Douglass. Reno: University of Nevada Press.

Pereira-Muro, Carmen. 2015. Culturas de España. Stamford: Cengage Learning.

40

Reino de España. 1978. Constitucion Espanola. Madrid: Spain. Sec. 155

Smith, Anthony D. 1986. The Ethnic Origins of Nations. Reno: University of Nevada Press.

41

Top View